Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party today got over the critical voting session in the Assembly with the requisite vote. They had 28 members with whom all the 8 members of the Congress extended their support. The voice vote thus got him 36 out of 70 seats. The 31 members of the BJP voted against Kejriwal. Harsh Vardhan in a lengthy speech slammed Kejriwal for opting for support from the Congress. Arvinder Singh Lovely of Congress gave assurance that the party will support AAP but only if the decisions are for the betterment of the people. Also it was specified that some hasty decisions in the past few days should have been thought of more.

02-Jan-2014Others

27 killed in Maharashtra bus accident

A state transport bus met with an accident when it slumped into a 400 feet ravine in the Malshej Ghat in Maharashtra. In this accident 27 passengers lost their lives and 18 were injured. The incident happened at 10:30 am when the Thane-Ahmednagar bus which belonged to Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation slipped off the road and dived into the narrow gorge. At a steep curve on the precipitous ghat road the bus with 45 passengers on board fell into the ravine. The injured were transferred to hospitals in Murbad and Thane. Police has said the death toll can go up.

02-Jan-2014Others

Politics over gang-rape in West Bengal?

West Bengal Chief Secretary Sanjay Mitra condemned politics being played over the body of a 16-year-old girl who was gang-raped twice and set on fire. The girl's body was cremated on Wednesday in the midst of furor claiming that the police was deliberately trying to do away with the evidences by cremating the body. The teenager was twice raped in October and she died on Tuesday, December 31 at the state run R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital. She was brought here on December 23 with severe burn injuries. The girl’s family as well as the Left Front has stated that the police was forcefully trying to cremate the body. This has led to a spat between the Trinamool Congress and the opposition. On the other hand Mitra also dismissed the fact that there was a medical negligence as the victim succumbed to massive burns. The girl’s father met the Governor and expressed fear about his family’s security as he said he has got threat from the police and goons to leave Bengal. He has also urged for death penalty of the six people arrested for the crime.

02-Jan-2014Business

Sensex slips to lowest since November 21

Sensex on Thursday closed at 252 points less and largest dip since November 21. This was due to delayed profit-taking in bluechips that included ITC, ICICI Bank, L&T and RIL. Selling of shares was seen on large scale capital goods, realty, banking and power were maximum hit. IT sector was untouched as the rupee went below 62 mark against dollar. BSE ended at 20,888.33, slumped 1.19% or below 252.15 points. Sensex had slipped by 406.08 points on November 21, 2013. National Stock Exchange or Nifty went down by 80.50 points, or 1.28% and closed at 6,221.15. 25 stocks were in red while five shares which included TCS,Sun Pharma and Infosys closed in green.

02-Jan-2014Sports

Sushil Kumar will compete in 74 kg in Rio Olympics

The double medalist in Olympics, Sushil Kumar has stated that he will be now competing in 74 kg instead of 64 kg in the Olympics in Rio. He also termed it as the most crucial decision he has taken in his life. He also said that it took him and his Guruji Mahabali Satpal two weeks to come to the conclusion of shifting the weight category. He said his Guruji wanted him to opt for 65 kg category. This way he and Yogeshwar Dutt will be competing in the Rio Olympics and they would compete in 70 kg and 65 kg category in the World and Asian championship respectively. Sushil will be participating in the 70kg category in the Colorado Springs tournament. Similarly Amit Kumar Dahiya who grabbed a silver in the World Championship will be shifting to 57kg in the Olympic and FILA as 55kg is now not there while Narsingh Yadav, who had clinched gold in the 2010 Commonwealth Games will shift from 74kg to 86kg for the Olympic and FILA events to vacate a position for Sushil.

02-Jan-2014Science and Technology

Mobile internet users to increase to 185 million by June 2014

The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) estimation predicts that number of users who connect to the internet through mobiles in India will increase to 155 million by this March and 185 million by June, 2014. Thus a growth of 20% will be maintained on a quarter-on-quarter basis. In December the number was 130 million whereas it was 110 million in October 2013. In urban India the number will move from 103 million in December 2013 to 126 million in March and 153 million by June. On the other hand in rural India the user base will reach 32 million users in June 2014 from 27 million in December 2013. Average revenue per user (ARPU) has slumped from Rs 460 to Rs 387 in 2012. But there was an increase by 45% in 2013 on the amount spent on mobile internet and it was 43% rise from the previous year. 35% of the mobile internet users spend in the range of Rs 100 and Rs 500 per month while 9% spend over Rs 500 and 6% have less that Rs 100 expenditure every month.

02-Jan-2014Science and Technology

Airtel Offers Facebook in Nine Regional Languages

Airtel customizes its social networking services by offering Facebook in regional languages. If you are a user on Bharti Airtel network you can browse social networks in your regional language. Currently, prepaid customers of Airtel network in India can access Facebook in 9 regional languages absolutely free of cost. These languages are Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Punjabi, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, and Kannada. No matter what you are doing on Facebook – using browser, commenting, posting status updates, uploading photos, using an app, etc. – you can do it in your own selected 9 regional languages. If you need more detail you can visit m.facebook.com. This interface is compatible with Windows devices, iPhone, Android, JAVA, and Feature.

02-Jan-2014Science and Technology

ZTE India to Deploy Aircel 4G Network

One of the leading most names in global telecom equipment and solutions – ZTE India – has announced they have entered into an agreement with Aircel – one of the leading telecom companies in India – to deploy 4G LTE network in certain parts of the country. Per the press release of ZTE, the first stage of deployment will be done in Chennai, followed by different parts of Tamil Nadu. CEO of the company, Xu Dejun, said this deployment will help Aircel provide its customers to get data at a speed of 65 Mbps.

02-Jan-2014Science and Technology

6 Million Downloads of OLX App

OLX, one of the most happening online classified sites in India, has announced that its app has been downloaded more than 6 million times, a fit in itself. In Google Play Store, OLX app has secured a 27th Rank in the free apps section. OLX uses location coordinates to connect buyers and sellers while on the go. It has been found out that OLX Mobile app is not only visited from metros only but also from Tier – 2 and Tier – 3 cities. A 700% increase of OLX Mobile App was witnessed in 2013 alone.

02-Jan-2014Others

Further Relaxation of FDI Policy in the Offing: Trade Minister

Further liberalization of FDI policy is in the offing, indicated Trade Minister of current UPA2 government. Per the minister, this relaxation will help attract more foreign investments in India, helping to provide more impetus to industrial growth. Anand Sharma, India’sCommerce and Industry Minister said further liberalization of Foreign Direct Investment Policy will ensure India’s endeavor to retain its leadership position in attracting foreign investments. Some of the sectors that were prized open to foreign direct investment last year include stock exchanges, power exchanges, commodity bourses, PSU oil refineries, defense, and telecom. Currently, the ministry is chalking out the plan in relaxing FDI norms in two key sectors – Construction and Railways. India attracted $12.6 billion worth of FDI during April-October, which amounts to a decline of 15% over corresponding period last year. In 2014, Mr. Sharma said impetus will be given to industrial corridors throughout India. The first few ones will be based in the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor or DMIC. This Project is $90-billion in value and is one of the biggest industrial infrastructures along the Delhi-Mumbai Rail Freight Corridor, covering a total distance of 1,483kms, spread over 7 states. Technical as well as financial aid to DMIC is provided by Japan. One of the most important points clarified by the minister is that more foreign investment along with greater technology collaborations will move Indian manufacturing to greater heights with the help of greater competitiveness globally. One of the positive aspects of the last fiscal has been reasonable increase in shipments, especially in the initial 8 months. M.S. Sharma also said that during the period between April and November 2013, exports increased at a rate of 6.27%, reaching $204 billion in value. However, import aggregated during the same period is $304 billion, giving rise to a trade deficit of $100 billion.

02-Jan-2014Others

Former RBI Governor Expects Reshaping of Indian Economy in 2014

Bimal Jalan, Former Governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), expects the Indian economic growth to get momentum in 2014. However, this has a prerequisite, per Mr. Jalan. Election outcome will be a great factor in achieving that end.

Economic Outlook in 2014

Mr. Jalan is optimistic about the New Year and expects it to fare better than 2013. He expects the economy to do well in the following areas:

Lower current account deficit

Lower rate of inflation

Higher GDP growth rate

After the government has undertaken some measures to boost investment it is expected to increase growth rate. Outlook of the economy is expected to be positive in 2014.

On Changing Paradigm of Politics from Identity based Politics to Issue Based One

One of the greatest aspects in current political landscape in India is the emergence of Aam Aadmi Party. He is especially satisfied with AAP because society as a whole wanted to see some change, not on the basis of religion, caste, and creed, but on the basis of some ingrained problems faced by India such as corruption, provision of basic amenities, and others.

The rise of AAP is a phenomenal thing in itself because the entire society came down to the streets demanding some basic aspects of life and voted for a change, at least in Delhi. This changing paradigm of politics in India will surely benefit the economy in long run.